Which Way Is West?
by Footprints
Summary: CHAPTER 6 UP! Alternate Ending. When the Red Dragons kidnap the crew and threaten to execute them in an effort to lure out Spike, will he come to their rescue or run away with Julia?
1. Prologue

Which Way is West?

By Water/Air

Notes: Takes place as an alternate ending for series as it takes the place of episodes 25 and 26. Slight Spike/Julia. Also, this story is kind of short but I will try and keep it full of substance.

I don't own CB

**CB**

Prologue

Vicious sat in his chair, in front of the Van. Unlike the others, who were nervous in their presence, Vicious acted cold and hostile toward the Van. Vicious was quite unpopular with the Van since Mao's death. Ever since, the Van had been desperately searching for proof that Vicious had killed Mao but Vicious knew that they wouldn't come up with anything.

Vicious still liked the Van better, for what it was worth. The Van still had some blood left in them, compared to that weakling, Mao. But it wouldn't save the Van's lives. Vicious was going to take great joy in killing the walking corpses. Then he would finally be leader of the Red Dragons. He could imagine the power he had craved since he had tried to kill Spike. He wanted it but also had the infinite patience to wait for it.

"Vicious," one of the Van called to him. Vicious looked up at the three old men, who sat where he would soon sit. Vicious masked his envy as he gave the Van a cold stare.

"Vicious, your worth at the Red Dragons is low, we hoped that Callisto would be able to redeem your worth to us but you failed. And Lin is dead," the Van said to Vicious in an attempt to scold him.

"Did you call me here for a reason... because if you called me to insult me, than you are wasting my time..." Vicious said lowly. He stood up waiting for his answer.

"Sit down, Vicious," the Van said. Vicious stood standing. Staring at the Van with a look that would have had anyone else cowering in fear but the Van were wise and fearless, they took no notice of this look and continued. "We hope that you will not fail us on this mission," the middle Van said. Vicious didn't look surprised. He knew that they would use him some more before killing him, so he had to kill them first.

"What is the mission?" Vicious asked coldly.

"I'm sure you remember Spike Spiegel," the man on the left said. Vicious looked up in surprise. The Van didn't exactly like Vicious and Spike's relationship because his hate for Spike seemed to get in the way of the mission on Callisto. Vicious was surprised that the Van had brought him up.

"Yes, what about him?" Vicious became cold again.

"Callisto was a failure but you did manage to find Spike... you see we have been looking for him for years..." the Van said.

"But why go after Spiegel? He's just a pest who has nothing to do with the Red Dragons anymore," Vicious asked. The Van was confusing him but Vicious wasn't showing it.

"Since when do you ask questions, Vicious?" the right Van asked angrily.

Vicious didn't fear them. "I want to know why?" he said angrily back.

An eerie silence floated over them for a minute everything was calm but very uncomfortably calm. "Spike's in debt for helping Gren sabotage the Red Eye and get away," the left Van said.

"Gren is dead," Vicious stated with no emotion.

"We know but Spike escaped the Red Dragons with very valuable information," the right Van said. Vicious knew what they were talking about drug dealers and information regarding other illegal stuff that the Dragons did. Hell, Spike might have sold the info to the White Tigers for a personal: "Screw you and go to hell," But Vicious knew that Spike was no snitch either.

"So, you want me to kill him," Vicious confirmed with the Van.

"Lure him back here... take his crew here and let's see if he crawls back..." the left Van said.

Vicious turned and walked to the exit. "Vicious!" the middle Van called to him. "Don't kill the crew or Spike, or your presence will be terminated," he said.

Vicious turned and smiled evilly as he walked out.

**CB**

A/N: This is just the prologue and more will be on the way very soon. Thanks for reading and please review, I'm grateful for any insight.


	2. The Plan In Action

**Which Way Is West?**

Please Read and Review, thanks.

Also: In this ending, Faye and Ed never left.

**CB**

Chapter 1: The Plan In Action

Spike turned the corner and ran after the punk bounty. He rubbed his eyes from the pepper spray that the kid had used on him. He was lucky enough to get his hand over his left eye but his right had not had the luck. Now it was burning in agony as Spike tried to make the shape out of the bounty in front of him.

Spike, in addition to the pain in his eye, was really starting to hate Jet. Jet, who had made him go after this small fry punk. Jet was too busy fixing the shower that Faye had complained about. Faye was at a bar before Jet could tell her and Ed was Ed. So that left Spike. The kid was only worth 3000 wuolongs. Spike wondered if the kid had robbed a convenient store or something. He didn't even know that bounties could get so low.

The kid turned the corner and smashed his head into a pillar. He slowly fell back, the kid landed on Spike who fell over and angrily swore at the kid who was a little dazed. But then Spike looked at where he was. On the steps of ISSP station. Man, he lucked out this time. He realized that he could get back faster now that he didn't have to drag the kid around town.

He grabbed the kid by the back of his shirt and hoisted him into the police station, satisfied with his catch, Spike dragged the kid through the lobby until he came to a desk. The cop looked at the kid who was being dragged by Spike. He automatically figured that the guy was a bounty hunter. "What's his name?" the cop asked lazily.

Spike liked the feel of the crisp dollars in his pocket. He felt like buying something except that Jet would penalize him for not using the money to repair the Bebop. Sometimes it was so unfair. Jet would ask him to get money for the ship but let Faye gamble it away. He figured that this was because, Jet trusted him the most. But Spike never knew that trust could be so unfair.

He sighed and walked to his ship. He was unfortunate to chase the kid a mile from his ship. This sucked. Jet owed him for this one.

**CB**

Faye sat at the bar, nurturing her cocktail. It was her third one. She didn't plan on getting drunk, just a few drinks. She looked around her to see that she hadn't chosen a bad bar. There were no dirty old men or any sluts. She caught a few off to the corner of her eye. "Okay, maybe a few," Faye said to herself. She looked back to her drink. The light flashing off of the glass she held.

The bar door was pushed open to reveal more lights to blind Faye through her glass. She covered her eyes and waited until the bar door was closed she then picked up her drink and took a sip. The light from the windows still flashed on the glass but it was covered up as a man appeared behind her.

"Are you Faye Valentine?" a deep voice asked.

"No, who's Faye Valentine," Faye said, feeling that she was in trouble. Most of the time, she was in trouble, so she avoided attention at most times. It was a shame because she truly wanted it. Only she wanted good attention.

"I believe you are," the man said. Faye froze as she felt a gun pointed to her back.

'Shit this brings back memories,' Faye thought to herself. "Who are you?" Faye asked the man. She could feel a smile bearing into her back.

"I'm a friend from the Red Dragons," the man said. Faye's eyes widened. "Your presence is requested," he added.

"This is such a charming way to ask a request, too," Faye said sarcastically. She reached for her gun but the man pressed his further into Faye's back.

"The Van wants your presence, you should go or maybe... the thirty Red Dragons outside will persuade you," the man said.

Faye sighed in defeat and stood up. She didn't know if it was a bluff or not but she knew not to risk it. If there were 30 outside then she would be dead if she tried anything. She slowly walked but the gun sped her up a bit. When she stepped outside, there was nothing.

Faye turned and was hit on the head with the butt of the gun. Then her world went black.

**CB**

"Ed?" Jet said to the girl that was sitting next to his bonsai while he trimmed it.

"Yeah?" the thirteen-year-old girl said.

"Could you please not sit so close? I can't get my bonsais cut if you're in the way," Jet said to Ed who jumped off.

"Don't bonsais remind you of Spike?" Ed asked.

"Kind of, if you think about his hair," Jet related the two in his mind.

"You should give Spike-person a trim with bonsai scissors!" Ed suggested. Jet smiled at the idea. It was true. Spike was long overdue on a haircut.

"I should but he'll probably die before letting me trim his hair," Jet laughed to himself. He positioned the scissors on a branch and trimmed the leaves off carefully. "Perfect," he said to himself.

A huge explosion rocked the ship as the alarms went off. Jet accidentally cut the whole branch off. "Shit," he said to himself and dropped the scissors.

Ed was knocked onto the floor as a second wave hit the ship and Jet fell back. Ed slid across the room. Ein was thrown against the wall. It felt like the whole Bebop was falling apart.

Then suddenly the explosions stopped and the doors to the ship opened. Swarms of Red Dragons ran into the room holding machine guns. They were all pointed at Jet, Ed, and Ein. Jet looked around.

"Shit, what did Spike do now?" Jet asked himself. Ed put her hands up and sadly Jet did too. Today sucked.

**CB**

A/N: Forgive me if the writing style is a bit off, I wrote this a while ago. Once again, please review, I'm grateful for all insight. Next chapter will be up soon.


	3. The Missing Crew

Author's Note: Thank for the reviews and the insight. I'm sorry if the wording is a bit dated, I wrote this story a while ago and I'm a bit lazy so I haven't edited the whole thing. That's it. Enjoy this chapter.

**CB**

Chapter 2: The Missing Crew

Spike was going to land the Swordfish in the hanger but when he saw smoke coming from the Bebop, he decided to park a dock away. As he landed, he saw the burn marks on the sides, making the crappy fishing ship look worse than Spike could have imagined.

It had looked like it had been hit with missiles. Spike slightly worried, he got out of his ship and ran to the ship. He ran to the door and opened it and was greeting by thick smoke. He cupped his hand over his mouth and ran in. Spike had really hoped it was a bad cooking accident or something, but he had a bad feeling.

The smoke was thick and the tiny doorway wasn't helping. Spike searched for the controls. He knew he was close to the panel in the front of the ship. He let his fingers guide him then stopped, momentarily taking a breath but inhaling smoke instead. Spike let out a deep cough and slammed his hand down on the panel, hitting a button and the windows at the front of the ship opened, slowly letting out the smoke. Spike gasped for breath.

"Dammit... know I know why they have fire safety classes," he said to himself as he stuck his head out the window. After five minutes of normal breathing, Spike walked back to the panel and opened the hanger. From this part of the ship, he could see the smoke exiting. He breathed a sigh of relief and walked into the back of the ship. He looked around the hanger and in everyone's room.

He checked the hanger. Faye's ship was missing but Jet's was still here. That was the same as before.

Spike shook his head trying to make sense of it all.

"JET! Hey Jet!!" Spike called into the ship. No answer. He ran to Jet's room to find it empty. He walked over to Ed's computer but he couldn't find anything. "Ed!! Ein!! Faye!!" He called into the ship but no answer was given. Then he ran out to the hanger and stepped outside to see some red paint on the ship. He tried to read it but it was too big to see from this low.

He ran into the ship and up to the lookout over the hanger where he saw the shape of the red paint. It was a name written in red. Spike knew the name perfectly:

V-I-C-I-O-U-S

Spike swallowed the bile at his throat. This was quite unexpected of Vicious. He didn't usually pull these things unless something big was happening. Spike had known Vicious long enough to realize that if the Van wasn't dead then Vicious was for this stunt.

He heard a loud beep at the other end of the ship that scrambled his thoughts. It was the ringing of the computer. Spike ran to it. Hoping that it was Jet or Faye, or Ed. Hell even Ein would pass for good. Spike hit the ENTER button twice and the screen opened up.

"Shin?!" Spike asked surprisingly into the screen.

"Spike," Shin said with adoration written all over his face. Shin was loyal to Spike. Even in his own death. Spike knew this but hoped that he didn't become like Lin did.

Sacrificing his life for Vicious...

That was something that made Spike hate him more.

"Shin, what the hell is going on?!" Spike yelled annoyingly into the screen.

"Sorry for not letting you know earlier but I helped in this op," Shin said.

"What?" Spike absorbed the information slowly. "Why?" he responded, changing his question. He wondered why Shin was betraying him.

"We all got orders from Vicious," Shin said to Spike.

"But you're part of the Van's side, are they dead?" Spike asked.

"No, they put Vicious in charge."

"Why?"

"Of the new mission, they want you dead because of the Red Eye debts and the fact that they know that you're alive, they hope that your death will be a sign for the rest of the Dragons who are on Vicious' side."

"But why Vicious?"

"Simple, Vicious wants you dead and no one else can kill you," Shin said. Spike's gaze dropped.

"Where is my crew?" Spike asked in a low voice.

"In the chamber," Shin noticed the relief on Spike's face for a second, Spike hadn't really meant to show it but Shin saw it. "The Van is issuing a message that if you don't take their place within 48 hours, they are going to be executed," Shin said.

"Why is the Van doing this, they weren't this radical before?" Spike asked Shin.

"Times have changed. With Mao gone the Red Dragons have divided and Vicious wants to pull a coup on the Van. The Van know and are trying a desperate attempt to play the game at Vicious' level to calm it down a bit but it isn't helping...... I waited for you to come back..." Shin said.

"I'm not coming back," Spike said.

"But Mao... he wanted you to take over..." Shin stuttered, surprised and afraid of Spike's answer, like Spike had shattered his hope.

"Shin... it isn't going to happen," Spike said sadly. "I have to find Julia, then I'm out," he said disconnected the line. He leaned back into the chair and tried to absorb the killer head rush.

Was Shin right? Should he come back?

_No. Vicious is there_ and he didn't want to fight Vicious.

But what about the crew?

**CB**

"Faye... Hey Faye wake up!!" Faye heard Jet's voice and opened her eyes slowly. She saw deep colors of red and brown focus. She was in a room. There were jail bars on the other side but darkness beyond that.

Faye tried to move but she was frozen as her arm wouldn't move. She turned her head, which brought on a world of pain. Faye let out a groan and looked over at her hand, which was handcuffed to a steel board behind her. She saw Jet, who was also handcuffed along with Ed. Ein had his legs tied together and he was in the corner.

Faye found quickly that moving caused pain. Her body ached all over. Between the tearing sensation of the handcuffs and the head pain, Faye thought that she was going to die.

"Faye... Faye," Jet's voice said again. Faye tilted her head towards Jet, ignoring the pain.

"Yeah?" Faye asked, Jet still blurry in her eyes.

"You okay, you've been out for something like five hours," Jet said.

"Yeah, I just..." Faye started but then the memories all came back. "Got hit on the head," she finished. Jet turned away.

"You do know where you are, don't you?" Jet asked, his eyes looking concerned.

"I can guess... Red Dragon central," Faye said obviously to Jet.

"And the million dollar question goes to Faye-Faye!!" Ed said a little too loudly for Faye, who felt like she was having a hangover.

"Her attitude hasn't changed," Faye said annoyed at Ed's yelling.

"She's a strong person," Jet said in his 'I-am-the-guru-of-knowledge' voice.

"So why are we here, is lunkhead in trouble or are we just bait?" Faye asked to Jet and Ed.

The door creaked open and Vicious walked in out of the darkness. Faye froze; Jet saw her fear and wondered who he was. Ed also shut up.

"A little bit of both actually, not that it'll matter to you," he said. His words were followed by a cruel smile and his hand on his katana.

**CB**

A/N Part 2: Please read and review. I'm grateful for any insight. Thanks again to those who have reviewed. Hope that you are enjoying the story. The next chapter will be up soon. Thanks for reading.


	4. Angel From The Underworld

Thanks to all my reviews. Here is chapter 3 and I hope you enjoy.

**CB**

Chapter 3: The Angel from the Underworld

Vicious slowly pulled out his katana; he was finding pleasure in seeing the look Faye had on her face. He hoped that the Van would show such fear and respect when he was about to kill them. Sunlight, shown on the katana, was reflecting. The katana made a grinding noise as it scraped against the sheath. To others it carried death and pain but to himself:

Freedom and Power

After his sword was free from the sheath, he walked slowly toward the crew. The katana hung loosely at his side as he walked up to them. His cruel smile was intimidating and was what scared Faye the most.

Vicious lifted the sword to her neck and she trembled as the blade touched her skin. Shivers went down her spine and she was finding it hard to breathe. She kept her wide eyes on him the whole time.

"Vicious..." she said quietly. Almost so Jet couldn't hear.

"You're trembling...." He said, at this she flinched. "My blade might slip if you don't stop trembling..." he smiled. She was getting more horrified by the second. She wasn't scared the first time they had met. But by the incident with Gren on Callisto, she feared him; he was the monster under the bed, in her nightmares, everywhere. He alone haunted her.

Jet stared in awe at Vicious. He was wondering what kind of person had this emotional control over Faye. Jet had seen Faye with worse people than this but she wasn't afraid.

Jet saw her as a strong-willed woman. He could see now that Faye was deathly afraid of him, like she knew him or something. Jet mentally sighed. _Why is the past always involved?_ He asked himself in his mind. But he already knew the answer:

The past dictates the present.

"Do you two know each other?" Jet asked aloud, figuring that he needed to find out now rather than later.

Faye sighed: Jet to the rescue. She was deeply grateful for it too. She had figured that if she had to take anymore of Vicious' threats then she would have a heart attack.

"So to speak," Vicious said, taking the sword off of Faye's throat and turning around. He retreated into the darkness slowly. But before he left, he turned.

"If Spike doesn't show up in 48 hours, you're all dead," Vicious flashed his cruel smile and exited. The door slamming behind him, Faye, Jet, Ed, and Ein were alone again, victims of the cruel silence around them.

**CB**

Spike was in deep thought when the monitor rang again. In such deep thought that he didn't realize it was ringing until the fourth ring. He snapped out of his trance and hit the ENTER button. It wasn't a communication, just an e-mail. Spike opened the file and his eyes widened.

_Spike,_

_Meet me at the Seaside Café on 3rd Avenue in Tharsis. I hope to see you again._

_Your Angel,_

_Julia_

Spike looked at the letter at least three more times. "Seaside Café... 3rd Avenue... Tharsis..." he repeated to himself. He quickly got up and ran to the hanger. He wasted no time in getting into the cockpit of his ship and taking off with those three things running through his head.

He knew very well that it could be a trap but he didn't care. He knew the risks and he was willing to take them.

As the Swordfish lifted higher into the air, Julia crossed his mind more and more. He was going to her this time. She would be the one waiting and unlike her, he would be there.

**CB**

Faye let out a sigh at Vicious leaving. Jet wasn't going to ask. He knew it was none of his business anyways. He also knew that Faye was in a bad mood and because of that, he knew it wasn't wise to ask.

Faye put her head down and took deep breaths. Then she lifted it up and she had calmed down a bit. Vicious seemed to be cleared from her mind but the pain from the cuffs was back as she flinched from moving.

Jet was relieved that she was back to normal and looked at Ed who seemed in deep thought. Ed then turned to Faye.

"Scary-man is freaky... who is he?" Ed asked Faye. Faye shook her head and groaned.

"Ed you are annoying today," Faye said to the girl hoping to get Ed off of her back.

"You say that Edward is annoying everyday," Ed wined, putting on a sad face.

Faye groaned. Jet just laughed. This was beginning to be interesting. "Maybe this isn't going to be so bad," Jet said. "If we weren't going to die in 48 hours."

**CB**

Spike looked around the café he had walked in and scanned the room. Just some teenage kids, a business man, two waitresses and an old woman with a cat. Spike didn't see Julia anywhere.

He chose a booth and sat down. Figuring that Julia would be there soon, he decided to order some coffee and wait.

As his coffee was delivered to him he saw a woman enter the café. She wore a long, black coat, had black hair and black sunglasses on. She walked over to wear Spike was and sat down across from him.

Spike just stared at awe at the woman. Maybe the black wig was a little too much but Spike saw her face.

"Julia."

**CB**

Ah, a cliffhanger! Well sort of. Anyways, hope you enjoyed. Please read and review and I'll have the next chapter up soon. Thanks again for reading.


	5. Or Maybe A Devil From Paradise

A/N: Sorry for being so late but I'm a lazy guy and editing is one of those things I have to drag myself through. Oh well. There are a few things about this chapter. The title is a continuation from the third chapter of a sentence that Faye states in the original RFB about Julia.

This chapter is the highest amount of Spike/Julia that's in this story and I'm not sure whether it turned out okay or not. Spike does act different around Julia and I wanted to portray that here so he is a bit OOC but it is intended. I tried to also shed more light on Julia but... you decide how she turned out.

Anyways, thanks to the people who reviewed and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**CB**

Chapter 4: Or Maybe a Devil from Paradise

"Nice wig... but I like you better as a blonde," Spike smiled and sipped on his coffee. He also stared at Julia who was looking as beautiful as ever.

"You're going to have to deal with it... for now. The Red Dragons can't identify me so I'm safe but you, you stick out like a sore thumb," Julia said.

"Really, and what's wrong with me?" Spike asked Julia in a half-joking tune.

"You still smoke, wear the same clothes as when you were in the syndicate, are half-assed and... what's with that unruly mob," Julia said signaling at Spike's hair in the same joking tone.

"If you wanted me to change, then I would have," Spike said to Julia, smirking.

"No, I'm fine with how you look, I don't really care what you look like..." she said calmly and tried to finish without finishing so Spike took up the conversation.

"At least that wasn't the reason why you didn't show up....." Spike's voice turned oddly cold at the mention of his abandonment. He waited at the graves for hours but she didn't come. He finally left and then... "It felt more like a dream than ever," Spike added.

Julia took off her sunglasses and let Spike stare into her deep blue orbs. She, in turn, looked into his eyes. A shiver went down her back, that strange feeling that she got when she looked into his two different colored eyes.

The eyes that she loved and felt protected in.

The eyes that loved and protected her in return.

The eyes that she felt warm in and they gave her warmth.

All of her desires were captured in the two small orbs and she realized yet again why she had loved him so much.

"Vicious tried to set me up... to get me to kill you or he would kill us both. I choose neither and ran..." Julia explained to Spike who looked at her gently.

"...ran far away where Vicious couldn't touch you, where no one could," Spike finished for her as he kept his gaze into her eyes. Her eyes held so many emotions at once, Spike saw her sorrow for those who died, her love for him, and her insecurity which she never allowed anyone to see. Spike saw it all and he saw himself looking back.

He loved those eyes.

"I'm sorry Spike... if you had felt deserted. I didn't mean to. I was doing it for the both of us..." Julia said in her sweetest, yet saddest tone of voice. So sweet and sad that it almost hurt for him to hear. He didn't want her to be sad, ever. He wanted to make all that sadness go away, but her blue eyes told the story of sadness and thus it always existed.

"Yes... I know," Spike said, a bit of irritation in his voice and maybe a bit of disappointment. Spike lowered his head and hid his eyes. He sat there for a moment but Julia didn't speak. There was odd silence for a minute or two before Julia decided to break it.

"Are you okay?" Julia asked Spike. The concern was obvious in her voice. Spike looked up, sad now.

"Where do you live now?...... Please take me there," he said to Julia in a low voice. She nodded and stood. Spike followed her out of the door and to her red car. He got into the passenger seat and Julia took the wheel.

**CB**

The barred doors tilted open and Jet tilted his head up to see Vicious and three other syndicate members follow. The three carried trays of food which Jet guessed one for each of them. But he wondered how were they going to eat? He knew Vicious wasn't going to un-cuff them. Each of the dragons stood in front of Jet, Faye, and Ed.

Each one un-cuffed one hand and held the tray out in front of them. They were each given a spoon and were told to eat. Vicious stood from a distance and watched the scene. To him it was amusing and interesting to see how sloppily they ate.

Ed was inhaling her food.

Jet was eating it slowly and Faye was afraid to eat it.

Vicious noticed this and walked in front of Faye. "You know that you won't have your strength if you don't eat," he said in cold-mocking way.

Faye shook her head. "How do I know that you haven't poisoned it," Faye said, fearless for now.

Vicious took up his sword and brought it to Faye's neck again. She didn't look fearless now. "Because I'd rather kill you with this," he said and then he pulled the sword away as a syndicate member held the tray in her arm's reach. Vicious waited until they were done to turn and leave.

On his way out, he turned. "Oh, by the way... Spike only has a little more than a day to come..." Vicious said as he left the crew again.

**CB**

Julia pulled the keys out of her pocket and inserted them into the keyhole. She fidgeted a bit and then turned the knob and opened the large, wooden door. She held the door open for Spike who stepped in and looked around at her place. It was a small two room with a guest room and a main room. It also had a living room and a bathroom. But, while it wasn't grand or anything, it sure as hell beat the Bebop.

"Nice place," Spike said. "Cozy," he added after looking around a bit more. He sat down in on her couch and rested his legs on the arm rest. At his rudeness, Julia smiled back. It was an inside joke.

Spike sat up as Julia walked into the kitchen. "I'm going to make dinner," she said, her face staring away from Spike.

"At ten PM?" Spike asked with curiosity.

"I didn't have my dinner yet," Julia said. Spike's stomach growled. Julia's face broke into a smile. "And from my observations, you haven't either," she said laughing. Spike blushed, his habit when his stomach went rogue.

**CB**

"You're eating slowly for once," Julia said to Spike who was slowly eating his food instead of inhaling it like he always did.

"On the Bebop, my partner did the cooking and it tasted horrible so we all ate fast but now that I have some good food, I'm savoring it," Spike said with a smile and as he slowly chewed the steak in his mouth. If he wasn't mesmerized by Julia, he could probably eat all day.

"Bebop?" Julia asked.

"The old fishing ship where we catch bounties on," Spike said. He already had a feeling that Julia knew he was a bounty hunter so he didn't need to waste words.

There was another silence. They hated the silence because it was too empty for both of them. They had been silent to each other for three years. Spike looked up from his food. "So what have you been doing these past three years?" he asked Julia,

"Got a few jobs as a waitress, secretary, and right now I'm a bartender," Julia said as if she was recapping a boring game that she had played. "But unlike you, I haven't been off Mars... here I am working a stable life in one place while you run off and do your own thing everywhere, makes me kind of jealous." she added.

"Kinda reminds you of old times..." Spike said in an almost reminiscing voice. He zoned out for a second but was snapped back when Julia accidentally dropped her fork on her plate, making a loud ring.

Julia blushed and picked up the fork. She looked at Spike who was staring her straight in the eyes. Julia could feel herself growing nervous from the look as it was almost overwhelming. She tried to look away but found that she couldn't. He had locked the gaze.

Spike slowly got up from his seat and walked over to her. The whole time, keeping the stare. Julia was surprised to feel his warm hand on her cheek. She shuddered then blushed but Spike took no notice.

Julia stood with Spike's hand still on her cheek. He slowly pushed her face towards his which he moved into hers and they met in the middle. For the first time in three years, Spike felt free. He kissed her deeply again and wrapped his arms around her. She, in turn, did the same and they stood for a second before they walked, still in arms, to Julia's room.

**CB**

Vicious sat quietly on his chair, in his apartment. It was late:

1:00 AM.

He smiled for a second.

Spike had 23 hours left to show or he would delight in killing Spike's friends. He tried to imagine the delight in killing Spike's friends but none came. It was odd too, since he liked killing anything of Spike's. But the Van using their resources for the weak crew, instead of Spike himself was regarded with Vicious as an act of cowardice.

The Van were cowards, they were weak. Vicious reminded himself these things everyday. Every night. Mostly all the time.

_The syndicate doesn't need corpses who have lost the blood to hunt their enemies..._

Vicious told himself that because it was against his code, the Van had to die. Vicious suddenly thought about that. Killing the Van now would put him as leader and with Spike coming soon, Vicious could take control and kill him and his crew. He smiled at the thought.

His infinite patience had given him the gift to wait for these occasions. He had wanted to become the leader since he was 18. But with Mao, the Van, and Spike still in the way, he would never have made it. But Mao was dead, Spike was gone, and the Van would be soon. Vicious smiled cruelly as the crow landed on his shoulder.

Soon, he would wake them all up.

**CB**

Spike smoked a cigarette as he lay naked on his back with Julia's head resting on his chest. He had missed the feeling of the warm body on top of him. It had been three years, after all. While Julia lay asleep. He lay awake. His dream had come true, but he couldn't leave yet.

Something still bound him.

Jet... Faye... Ed... Ein... he was bound to them. He wanted to help them but was afraid. Vicious.... His equal in all his fighting. All of their fights ended in a draw but Spike knew that this draw would be both of them dying or both of them living. He looked down at Julia. No, he had to fight.

Sooner to end the dream than later.

**CB**

Hope you enjoyed. Please drop some insight too, I really want to know if there is anything I need to work on. Otherwise, thanks for reading and I'll have the next chapter up soon.


	6. Vicious Symphony

Disclaimer: I don't own Cowboy Bebop

Notes: I am extremely sorry for the wait but I have been really busy lately. I will try to update faster than before though, for those who are eager to read this and other stories.

This chapter is mostly about Vicious. Once again, I'm sorry if Spike and Julia seem a little OOC but they act differently around each other than anyone else. Also I salvaged some lines from Episode 25 when Vicious gets caught by the Red Dragons but I did change some stuff in it.

Anyways, enjoy.

**CB**

Chapter 5: Vicious Symphony

Four heavy guards walked the halls with Vicious carrying up the rear. He had his eyes down to the floor and kept his cold face. No one made any noise as they were too professional to. The four guards stopped at the two large doors. Vicious knew… better than anyone, that they were the doors to the Van.

Vicious could hardly believe that he was finally pulling the coup. He had waited so long and now his plan was in action. Soon, he would call the shots. The first would be to eliminate Spike's friends who would be followed by Spike and then the Red Dragon's enemies. They would all fall at his rule.

Two men kicked the doors opened and opened fire on where the Van was or would be. When the shooting stopped, Vicious walked in and the lights flicked on to show the Van on the stairway with at least 20 guards, all were aimed to kill him. Vicious didn't look surprised. Hell, he half expected the Van to know anyway.

"Vicious…" the middle Van said. "What is this foolish thing you have done?" he asked knowing the answer.

Vicious remained silent. "Did you think you could just get rid of us?" the left Van asked Vicious.

"It is pitiful of you, Vicious. We had hope that you would change," the right Van said.

"You had nothing…" Vicious stated coldly at the Van, knowing that it would get him into further problems.

"Our fortune teller told us that the Cold-Eyed Snake would strike at us. Did you think that we would fall so easily?" the middle Van said.

Vicious was silent, letting a cold gaze of pure hate on the Van for one second before closing it off. "Kill me," he said.

"You will not choose when to die… when your pride is broken we shall take your life," the middle Van said. "Take him to the chamber," he added as the two syndicate members snapped handcuffs on Vicious and escorted him out of the door.

"Remember, the snake's poison spreads slowly after the bite," Vicious threatened the Van before he was taken out of the room.

**CB**

Spike woke up to find Julia gone but he didn't worry. He could hear eggs scrambling in the other room and figured that she was making breakfast. He took his pair of blue pants off of the floor and put them on, followed by his yellow shirt and tie. He walked into the living room. Julia noticed how sloppily he was dressed and chuckled.

"What are you laughing at?" Spike asked.

"You always wear that dorky tie," Julia said between laughs.

"It is not dorky," Spike in an attempt at being offended but Julia saw through it and laughed more.

Spike dropped the act and started laughing too. They laughed for a good minute before Spike sat down as Julia served up scrambled eggs, sausage, and orange juice.

"Breakfast of champions, I see," Spike said as he shoveled food into his mouth quickly. In a good five minutes Spike had finished off two helpings and was on his third.

"You're a pig, Spike," she said. Spike responded with a grunt and an attempted 'oink'.

Julia's smile turned into a sad smile and Spike knew that she was going to bring up the past again. "Spike…" Julia began. "Let's run away… we can get away… live freely like you told me we could long ago… please, let's just go," she pleaded with him.

Spike stared down at the ground. How could he tell her that he couldn't now after he had promised to so long ago? He didn't want to break his promise but his crew was also important to him.

"I want to… but…" Spike stared, hating the words that came out of his mouth.

"But what?" Julia asked.

"The Van… they have… my crew and they are dead if I'm not there in another 10 hours or so," Spike said in his lowest voice. "I'm sorry," Spike said.

Julia looked at the ground in despair. "Where ever you go, I'll come with you," Julia said.

Spike turned his head up toward her. Her dedication was amazing. He smiled softly at her, which made her feel light-headed. He could make her feel almost anything. "Thank you," he said smiling.

**CB**

Faye looked up as the jail bars opened and she saw Vicious being escorted in, but to her surprise, it wasn't freely. He was in handcuffs and being forced which made Faye smiled. Never had she had more relief in her life than to see Vicious restrained. Vicious wasn't angry, to her surprise. He was just his cold, calm self.

They un-cuffed one of his hands and then cuffed it to the metal next to Faye. Vicious waited as the doors slammed and closed his eyes. Jet was confused at what was happening. "Hey, Vicious…" Jet called to him.

His eyes opened and he turned to face Jet. "What the hell is going on?" Jet asked.

Vicious closed his eyes again and let out a small "heh" and then he turned away.

"Hey asshole!" Faye interrupted his peaceful thought. "Jet asked you a question," she said to Vicious, not frightened since he was restrained.

"You have a big mouth," Vicious said. As the sentence ended, Faye saw Vicious' smirk which was too similar to Spike's.

"Better than you who never talks at all," Faye said to Vicious. He was really starting to annoy her but, lucky for her, he was tied down.

"Silence is a virtue," Vicious said. "And if you respond, you'll be the first to die when I get out." Vicious was back to his normal self.

"And what makes you think that you will get out?" Jet asked Vicious as he was curious as to how Vicious planned to get out. If it was a good idea, Jet figured he could use it.

"There is only one person who can kill me and I'm the only man that can kill that person," Vicious said in his low, amused voice.

"Who, Who?" Ed chimed.

Vicious smiled. "Spike."

**CB**

Water/Air: Once again, sorry for the wait and I will try to have the next chapter out sooner. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this far and to those who haven't please read and review. I'm grateful for any insight. Thanks.


	7. Buddhism

Water/Air: It's been awhile. I can't say much but apologize for my apathy. I do plan to release the ending for this so expect to see it soon.

Notes: I don't own CB.

**CB**

Chapter 6: Buddhism

Spike loaded his two Jerichos and then turned to Julia who was loaded her two Glocks. Smoke grenades, regular grenades, a shotgun, and plenty of ammo to spare; they were going to war.

"Do you think…" Julia began her sentence. Only to be interrupted by Spike.

"I'm trying not to," Spike said.

"We'll get them back," Julia said.

Spike looked up at her and she saw that his eyes showed a kind of hurt that Julia hadn't seen a long time. She set the shotgun down, walked over to him and looked into his eyes.

So much suffering…

Like a cat in the rain for his entire life…

Julia couldn't take looking into them. Instead she closed her eyes and embraced him in a hug, burying her face into his shoulder. Only after did she feel his ragged breathing calm down.

"I waited so long to get here but…" Spike managed to say.

"We'll come back, Spike," Julia said in hopes of comforting him.

"I won't go back until you are with me." Spike said, his voice carrying a tone of truth. "I know you understand what I mean."

Then Julia realized: He absolutely meant it.

"Even if we both live, they will eventually get us. If you don't take over than they are going to rebuild and come after you again."

"No they won't, I won't let them, it'll just be us," Spike soothed into her ear.

Julia smiled. "I'd like that; you and me on an island somewhere. We should go to Ganymede or Venus or Gilbore. Anywhere that is hot and tropical,"

Spike smiled and cocked his Jericho.

"Yeah, that would be nice," he said.

**CB**

Vicious opened his eyes as the jail doors creaked open. The Van had finally come to finish him off.

Instead of the Van, though, he saw one syndicate member and Vicious recognized him instantly. The ghost of the dead servant, or rather his twin.

He walked in slowly with a pistol in his hand.

"Just one man to execute us all?" Jet asked aloud. He had always thought that the syndicate executions held more honor.

"What! That lunkhead didn't show up? Damn, you think he could show some concern for his comrades!" Faye screamed. "Damn it," she said in defeat. "So much I wanted to do before I die…" Faye continued to talk until the man raised the gun; then she let out a few fearful gasps and quieted down.

"Hold still," he said.

Faye closed her eyes and waited. Two gunshots echoed throughout the room and she flinched. After the second shot's echo had faded, she started to wonder if she was dead. She opened her eyes to see the gun pointed at her still.

But where did the shots go? She wondered for a moment before the handcuffs fell into pieces on the floor. With her hands free, she rubbed the red marks left on her wrists from the tight cuffs. The gun let out a few more shots, making Faye jumpy. Ed and Jet's cuffs fell to the floor a few seconds later.

Jet immediately untied Ein while Faye could only look bewildered at the man who had freed them. He raised his gun again to Vicious but instead of being aimed at the handcuffs, it was pointed straight at his chest.

"One good reason," the man said to Vicious, his teeth gritting in anger. Vicious said nothing, just closed his eyes in indifference.

"Shin…" Vicious began.

"Lin's dead because of you," Shin said, venomously.

"Lin died for nothing." Vicious growled.

"Bullshit!" Shin screamed at Vicious.

"Did Spike tell you that?" Vicious asked putting emphasis on his arch-enemy's name.

"I won't hesitate to shoot," Shin said in a shaky voice.

"Do it," Vicious said.

Silence overcame the room.

Shin's finger was pressured on the trigger and he had the urge to end Vicious' existence. All he had to do was pull the trigger and his brother's murderer would have been slain. However, he felt something wrong. He couldn't just shoot a helpless opponent, could he?

In the middle of this dilemma he heard the door creak open and he turned to see the Van and ten guards with automatics.

"Shin… we are disappointed," the left Van said.

With the pistol in hand, he froze.

**CB**

Julia stopped the car outside of the large building known as the Red Dragon Headquarters and looked down. Spike could only guess that she was praying, he didn't know for sure. He would have done the same in this situation except that he believed in karma. All he could do was hope that he had done enough of the good stuff to get some luck.

"If this is the last time then I wanted to say that I love you…" Julia said, lifting her head.

"The stray is coming home," Spike said quietly, getting out of the car. Tossing up and catching the smoke grenade in his hand, he and Julia walked up to the front door.

**CB**

"We expected you to be responsible, Shin," the right Van said. "But you betrayed us,"

Shin could barely move. His whole body was paralyzed by fear. He was afraid of the power that these three old men wielded. From the side, Jet realized that these men must have been in charge, as a huge execution squad was gathered behind them.

"We didn't expect you to act so foolishly like your brother did," the left Van said.

"You… you don't know him," Shin stuttered.

"We sent him to be a bodyguard for Vicious on Callisto. Originally, we wanted him to keep an eye on Vicious, yet your brother could not deny his own ambition and took a bullet for Vicious. In a sense, Vicious is right. He died for nothing," the middle Van said.

Shin was about to respond but they heard a loud explosion from below and the building shook. All of the fire alarms went off and the lights flickered.

"The building is under attack!"

"What! Where!" the middle Van shouted.

"Lobby!"

Vicious smiled. His two favorite people were here and he was itching to welcome them.

"The poison spreads slowly," Vicious said as four different syndicate guards appeared behind the Van and their group. Jet realized that they were Vicious' men as they opened fire on the syndicate members. One threw a smoke grenade and the whole scene dissipated before Jet's eyes. There was nothing but gunshots and the screams of the syndicate guards as Vicious sliced through them.

**CB**

Author's Note: Next Chapter Will Be Up Soon.


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